In a damper control device for controlling a damping force of a damper interposed between a sprung member and an unsprung member of a vehicle, such a damper control device is known that whether the damper is decelerating or accelerating is determined on the basis of expansion/contraction displacement and an expansion/contraction speed (damper speed) of the damper, for example, and a control gain is changed between deceleration and acceleration (see JP2007-210590A).
In the above-described damper control device, during deceleration, flattering of the unsprung member is suppressed by increasing the control gain so as to allow the damper to exert a high damping force, while during acceleration, riding comfort in a vehicle is improved by decreasing the control gain so as to allow the damper to exert a low damping force and to improve a road-surface follow-up characteristic of the unsprung member.
That is, in the above-described damper control device, in a situation in which the damper accelerates and a damper speed rises, the damper is allowed to exert the low damping force, while in a situation in which the damper decelerates and the damper speed lowers, the damper is allowed to exert the high damping force.